As wireless technology continues to evolve, the variety of functionality available in new wireless devices continues to expand. Cellular handsets, smartphones, etc. have far surpassed the ability to simply convey voice information, and now offer a myriad of different applications for personal and professional use. For example, mobile devices may be able to access a WAN (e.g., the Internet) to obtain updated information for local applications, to interact with remote (e.g., cloud-based) data resources, to perform a variety of financial transactions, etc. The ability to perform all of these functions is quickly making mobile devices essential to modern living.
One area where mobile devices are becoming more and more essential is for navigation. For example, many mobile devices now include a global positioning system (GPS) receiver that facilitates position determination to within a few meters of the actual device location. Location-related applications rely on this information to perform locating with respect to maps, to perform navigation, to find desired locations including, for example, places to obtain desired items, event locations (e.g., for business meetings, dining, entertainment, etc.). However, relying on GPS signals substantially limits the usefulness of location-related applications to outdoor use. GPS signals are often not receivable indoors, and even if GPS signals are received they do not provide the degree of resolution needed for indoor navigation to be useful. Indoor navigation may be helpful in large structures such shopping malls, colleges, auditoriums, arenas, etc. For example, indoor positioning-related applications may be able to direct people to meeting rooms, customers to retail establishments that sell desired items, have items on sale, etc. Recently development has occurred in regard to navigation systems usable in spaces wherein GPS signals are not receivable or inaccurate. However, adoption of these systems has been hampered by various requirements, limitations, etc. For example, many proposed strategies for indoor navigation require additional equipment be installed in the space specifically for navigation, require device training prior to navigation, lack the ability to deal with changing conditions within the space to be navigated, etc.
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.